Ex-Kalkaska County sheriff to run as Dem for Benishek's seat in Congress

Aug. 6, 2013

Written by

Detroit Free Press Washington Staff

WASHINGTON — A former Kalkaska County sheriff and retired National Guard general will run as a Democrat for the congressional seat currently held by Republican U.S. Rep. Dan Benishek.

Jerry Cannon, who retired as Kalkaska County’s sheriff in 2004, announced his 2014 campaign for Michigan’s 1st Congressional District seat with events in Marquette and Traverse City on Tuesday.

“I’m frustrated. Politicians in Washington, like our congressman, have forgotten why they were sent there — to create jobs and work for the middle class,” Cannon said.

If he runs and wins the Democratic nomination, Cannon would likely face Benishek — a retired surgeon who lives in Crystal Falls — who defeated Democratic former state Rep. Gary McDowell in 2010 and 2012.

The Michigan 1st district covers the Upper Peninsula and the northern part of the Lower Peninsula, and is the second-largest district geographically east of the Mississippi River. The Rothenberg Political Report considers it one of only two Michigan seats in play in 2014, listing it as a “toss up/tilt Republican.”

The National Republican Congressional Committee said Cannon was actively recruited to run by Democrats in Washington and accused him of embracing “an extremely liberal agenda” — if only because he was to be the substitute speaker for a Democratic state senator before a northern Michigan progressive group recently.

Former U.S. Rep. Bart Stupak, a Democrat from Menominee, represented the district for 18 years before deciding not to run for re-election in 2010.

Cannon — whose goes by Jerry, but whose first name is Nelson — is a Vietnam veteran and served as a major general in the Michigan Army National Guard and was deployed on several occasions, including overseeing military police operations in Iraq. After being appointed sheriff in 1987, he was elected to the position four times before retiring in 2004 to concentrate on Army National Guard duties.